System for laying out and installing a solar array

ABSTRACT

A system for installing an array of pilings for an array of solar panels is highly accurate and efficient. The system includes a horizontal laser and a rotating vertical laser that are mounted on a first piling and aligned with a target on a second piling on the opposite side of the array. An alignment template is placed against a piling and aligned with the vertical rotating laser. The aligned template provides a designated location where the next piling is driven. A hammer target on the pile driver allows the installer to precisely install the next piling. After installation, the next piling is measured for accuracy and if errors are found, an alignment bracket is used to correct the error. The process is repeated until the array of pilings is complete.

CROSS REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/177,163, filed Feb. 10, 2014, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,499,953,which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/187,707,filed Jul. 21, 2011, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,684,632, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/421,102, filedDec. 8, 2010, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

A solar panel is a packaged interconnected assembly of solar cells, alsoknown as photovoltaic cells. The solar panel can be used as a componentof a larger photovoltaic system to generate and supply electricity incommercial and residential applications. The power that one solar panelcan produce is seldom enough to meet requirements of a home or abusiness, so the solar panels are linked together to form a solar panelarray. Most solar panel arrays use an inverter to convert the DC powerproduced by the modules into alternating current that can power lights,motors, and other loads. The solar panels in a solar panel array can beconnected in series to obtain the desired voltage and then the seriescoupled groups of panels can be connected in parallel to allow thesystem to produce more current.

For optimum efficiency, the solar panels should be in perpendicularalignment with the light rays of the sun. However, since the earth isconstantly rotating, a fixed solar panel may be oriented to beperpendicular to the sun light at approximately noon each day. Eachsolar panel in the solar panel array can be attached to a fixed mountthat tilts the solar panel to face due South in the Northern Hemisphereand conversely, the fixed mount can tilt the solar panel to face dueNorth in the Southern Hemisphere. The tilt angle can be varied forseason, but if fixed, should be set to give optimal array output duringthe peak electrical demand portion of a typical year.

In order to improve efficiency, some solar panel arrays can track themovement of the sun through each day to greatly enhance energycollection. These tracking systems may move periodically to optimize thetilt angle so that in the morning the solar panel can face East and inthe afternoon, the solar panel can face West. Solar panel trackingdevices add cost, and require maintenance, but can also significantlyimprove the efficiency of the solar panel array. For large solar panelarrays, the energy gained by using tracking systems outweighs the addedcomplexity and can increase efficiency by 30% or more compared to fixedsystems.

Solar panel electrical output is extremely sensitive to shading. Wheneven a small portion of a solar panel or solar panel array is shaded,while the remainder is in sunlight, the output falls dramatically due tointernal “short-circuiting” which results from the electrons reversingcourse through the shaded portion of the p-n junction. If the currentdrawn from the series string of solar cells in the solar panel is nogreater than the current that can be produced by the shaded cell, thecurrent and power developed by the string is limited. If enough voltageis available from the rest of the cells in a string, current will beforced through the cell by breaking down the junction in the shadedportion. Thus, instead of adding to the power produced by the solarpanel, the shaded cell(s) in the solar panel absorbs power, turning itinto heat. Since the reverse voltage of a shaded cell is much greaterthan the forward voltage of an illuminated cell, one shaded cell canabsorb the power of many other cells in the string, disproportionatelyaffecting panel output. For example, a shaded cell may drop 8 volts,instead of adding 0.5 volts, at a particular current level, therebyabsorbing the power produced by 16 other cells. Therefore, it isextremely important that in a solar panel array installation none of thepanels is shaded at all by an adjacent solar panel.

It is desirable to have the solar panel array occupy a minimum amount ofland. However, for the reasons discussed above, each solar panel mustnot cast a shadow on any portion of the adjacent solar panels in orderto prevent the short-circuiting described above. Each of the solarpanels in the solar panel array is mounted to a piling that is driveninto the ground and provides a stable support structure for the solarpanel. Thus, the positions of the pilings determine the positions of thesolar panels in the array of panels. Because the positions of the panelsare critical for space and operating efficiency each piling must beprecisely positioned. A typical array can include 980 to 1,250foundation pile.

In order to position each piling accurately, a survey crew which cantypically include two workers are required to determine the exactlocation of each piling. After the piling locations are determined, aplate lay-out crew may be required to place guild plates over eachpiling location. The plate lay-out crew may require four workers whoposition and then stake each guild plate in place at each pilinglocation of the solar panel array. The staking of the plate can requirea significant amount of force to swing a sledge hammer to drive thestakes in place and can result in hand injuries. An alignment crew mayalso be necessary to adjust the alignment of the pilings. After they aredriven.

The typical foundation of a solar panel array system consists of 12′ to20′ long piles which can be pipe with a circular cross section, I-beamor other cross sections that can be driven into the ground using a piledriver. Driving piles, as opposed to drilling shafts, is advantageousbecause the soil displaced by driving the piles compresses thesurrounding soil, causing greater friction against the sides of thepiles, thus increasing their load-bearing capacity. A solar panel can bemounted on each of the driven piles. A solar array system can have about1,000 piles per mega watt. There are other techniques for producing thesolar panel array foundations, but a driven pile is more cost efficientverses other techniques like poured in place concrete and concreteballast system which can be about ten times more expensive.

One method the piles can be aligned in an array using stringing linestape measures. The laser can mark a straight line that the pilings canbe aligned with. Once the laser is used to identify a point, a stringline is pulled to create a reference line that should be straight alongthe laser line. The string line can be stretched across a portion of thesolar array land to create a reference line for aligning the pilings.However, a problem with string lines is they move in the wind even whileunder tension. A cross wind can cause the string line to curve and whenpulling a string line over 100 feet, the line may not be straight. Allsolar arrays, the pilings have to be within ¼ inch of side to sidealignment and within ¼ inch of the designated height. Setting thepilings with the string lines and tape may not be able to provide therequired level of accuracy.

Another method for properly positioning each piling is surveying everypiling point for a solar panel array. After each survey, each pilingpoint is marked with a nail and ribbon. The ground crew then installsthe guide plates at each piling point. The surveying and guide plateinstallation are not only costly but time consuming as well. In someinstallations, rain or snow can occur after the survey making itimpossible to keep working because the survey points are under water orsnow. After the guide plates have been set, an ABI crew installs thepiles. What is needed is an improved system for installing the piles fora solar panel array that is more accurate and efficient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed towards an improved method foraccurately and quickly installing pilings in a solar panel array. Asolar panel array can be rectangular in shape with four corners. Ratherthan surveying each piling location, only the corner locations can besurveyed and pilings can be installed at each corner. Each corner pilingcan be aligned vertically and be at a precise height. Once the cornerpilings have been installed, a system can be used to install theremaining pilings in the solar panel array. The system can comprise atrue site laser, a guide template, a pile driver that includes a hammertarget, an aligning bracket and a hand held receiving target. The truesite laser can include a sight scope, a horizontal laser, a rotationvertical laser and a battery pack. The guide template can include endshaving fittings that correspond in shape to the piling cross section, alevel sensor, a laser receiver, an adjustable pivot point and anadjustable wheel. The guide template can be adjustable in length andheight.

In order to set the pilings, the true site laser can be mounted on acorner piling in alignment with an adjacent corner piling. The guidetemplate is set to the proper length and one end of the guide templatecan be placed against the corner piling. The guide template is leveledand rotated about the corner piling into alignment with the rotatingvertical laser of the true sight laser. Once aligned and leveled, theopposite end of the guide template indicates the position of the alignedadjacent piling. An ABI pile driver having a hammer target can be usedto drive the new pile into the ground. The hammer target can be mountedon a high strength bracket that can withstand the forces of the ABIhammer. As the pile is driven into the ground, the hammer target willmove in front of the horizontal laser which can appear as a visible doton the hammer target. The pile driver can insert the pile until thelaser dot on the target is vertically and horizontally aligned with thebull's eye of the target.

The pile driver may not be able to make horizontal adjustments to thepile and horizontal movement of the pile can occur for various reasons.For example, a pile may contact a solid object(s) such as a rock thatcan cause horizontal deflection of the pile during the driving process.After the pile is driven into the ground to the proper height, a handheld target can be placed on the pile for alignment inspection. If thepile is properly aligned, the described process can be repeated for thenext piling. However, if there is a horizontal error, the piling willneed to be adjusted. In order to correct this alignment error, thealigning bracket can be placed over the piling and a horizontal forcecan be applied to the aligning bracket. The force applied to thealigning bracket can cause the piling to move into alignment.Adjustments can be made until the piling is within the requiredhorizontal alignment tolerance. Once the piling has been installed andaligned, the guide template can be placed against the piling and alignedwith the vertical laser to set the next piling in place. The describedprocess can be repeated until all of the pilings in the row of the solararray have been installed.

In an embodiment, the perimeter pilings between the corner pilings canbe installed first. After the perimeter has been completed, the rows ofpilings can be installed sequentially. After each row is completed, thetrue sight laser assembly can be moved to the next row and the sameprocess can be used to install the array of pilings is complete. Byperforming the described process, pilings in a 1,000+ piling array havebeen installed with an accuracy of ¼ inch of side to side alignment andwithin VI inch of the designated height.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate front views of embodiments of true sight lasers;

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate embodiments of mounting brackets for securingequipment to pilings;

FIGS. 6-7 illustrate an embodiment of an offset mounting bracket forsecuring equipment to pilings;

FIGS. 8-11 illustrate embodiments of alignment templates;

FIGS. 12-17 illustrate embodiments of end fittings;

FIGS. 18-20 illustrate an embodiment of a hammer target;

FIGS. 21-24 illustrate an embodiment of a handheld target;

FIGS. 25-28 illustrate an embodiment of an alignment bracket;

FIG. 29 illustrates an embodiment of a sequence of piling installationsin an array;

FIG. 30 illustrates a side view of a piling being driven into theground; and

FIG. 31 illustrates a flow chart for installing pilings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed towards a system and method forinstalling pilings which each support a solar panel which is part of asolar panel array. In an embodiment, the system used to install thesolar array pilings includes: a true sight laser assembly, a hammertarget, a receiving target, an adjustable guide template, and aligningbracket. These components are used to align, install and adjust thepilings for a solar panel array.

With reference to FIG. 1, a front view of a true sight laser assembly101 is illustrated. In an embodiment, the true sight laser assembly 101comprises: a laser 105 for emitting a laser beam, a sight scope 107 fora user to view the alignment of the true sight laser assembly 101, avertical rotating laser 109 and a battery pack 111. The laser 105, sightscope 107 and vertical rotating laser 109 can be mounted in a housingthat is attached to a base plate 121 by one or more adjustmentconnectors 123 that can be adjusted so that the base plate 121 isproperly aligned with the laser 105, sight scope 107 and verticalrotating laser 109. In an embodiment, the adjustment connectors 123 arethreaded rods that can be rotated to adjust the distance between thehousing and the base plate 121. In an embodiment, a locking mechanismcan hold the adjusting mechanisms 123 in place after they have beenproperly adjusted. In other embodiments, any other type of alignmentadjustment mechanism can be used.

In this embodiment, the laser 105, sight scope 107 and vertical rotatinglaser 109 will all be in vertical alignment with each other and all canhave controls for fine tune adjustment. For example, the true sightlaser assembly 101 can also have several fine tune adjustments controlsincluding: a sight scope adjustment 125 for focusing the sight scope107, a horizontal sight scope adjustment 127 for adjusting the side toside alignment and a vertical sight scope adjustment 129 for adjustingthe up and down alignment. The sight scope adjustment 125, horizontalsight scope adjustment 127 and vertical sight scope adjustment 129 canbe finger controls that allow a user to control the adjustments by hand.In an embodiment, the system may include locking mechanisms to preventthe sight scope adjustment 125, horizontal sight scope adjustment 127and vertical sight scope adjustment 129 settings from being changedafter they have been properly adjusted.

The rotating vertical laser 109 may include adjustable shutters 108 thatcontrol the emitted laser beam position. The laser beam may only beemitted at open portions of the rotating vertical laser 109 whereshutters 108 are not present. By adjusting the shutters 108, therotating vertical laser 109 will only emit the laser beam at specificranges of angles. These ranges of angles can correspond to thelocation(s) of the laser receiver(s) on the alignment template. Forexample, the shutters can be adjusted so the vertical rotating laser isvisible to a laser receiver on an alignment template, a laser receiveron a bottom of piling and a laser receiver on a top of a piling. Bymonitoring or checking the vertical alignment, an operator can verifythat the pilings are being accurately positioned.

Another embodiment of a true sight laser assembly 131 is illustrated inFIG. 2. This embodiment includes all of the same features as the truesight laser assembly 101 as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the verticalrotating laser 109 is offset to one side of the true sight laserassembly 131 so the vertical rotating laser 109 is not in the same planeas the laser 105. This offset allows the vertical rotating laser 109 toemit a rotating laser beam that is offset from the center line of thepilings. Thus, laser beam emitted by the vertical rotating laser 109 isoffset from the pilings but can still be used by the inventive systemfor performing the alignment. The beam from the rotating vertical laser109 is detected by laser receivers. In this embodiment, the laserreceiver(s) can be offset by the same distance that the verticalrotating laser 109 is from the piling that it is mounted on.

In an embodiment, the rotating vertical laser 109 can also have shutters108 so the laser can be emitted only at the desired location(s). Forexample, the shutters 108 can be adjusted so the laser beam may beprojected 10′, 100′ or any other distance. In a preferred embodiment,the laser beam is only directed in the direction(s) that the beam isneeded. The shutters 108 can also make the vertical laser beam morepowerful, giving the illusion of a solid line. The rotating verticallaser 109 can be precision calibrated to ensure that it is a verticalplumb line and that the vertical laser 109 is in line with thehorizontal laser 105. The sight scope 107 can enable the operator to seeand adjust the beam from the horizontal laser 105 to the desiredlocation. The sight scope 107 can have cross hairs for alignment. Thehorizontal laser can be mounted and calibrated to the cross hairs of thesight scope. In an embodiment, the horizontal laser can be set toapproximately 3.5 inches above the pile.

The sight scope 107, horizontal laser 105 and vertical laser 109components can all work together as a single unit. The true sight laserassembly 101, 131 can also include a battery pack 111 that can be at thebottom portion of the true sight laser unit 101, 131 and can berechargeable. In an embodiment, the battery pack 111 can hold a 10 hourcharge. The battery pack 111 may also have an adapter that can enablethe true sight laser assembly 101, 131 to run off of a car battery orother electrical power source on the job site. In other embodiments, thetrue sight laser assembly 101, 131 can have a remote control which couldallow the ABI hammer operator to turn on the laser beam only when thelaser is needed. This feature would extend the operating time of thebattery 111 as well as the life of the lasers 105, 109.

Rather than mounting a laser to a tripod, the true sight laser assembly101, 131 and other system equipment can be mounted directly to the topof the pile. With reference to FIGS. 3-5, three embodiments of the pilemounting bracket are illustrated. Each of these mounting brackets willhave the same universal mounted bracket found on all buildinginstruments. For round pipe piles the brackets can have a slightlylarger inner diameter round pipe (sleeve) that can be installed directlyover the pile. With reference to FIG. 3, a cross section view of amounting bracket 151 on a piling 141 is illustrated. The bracket 151fits over the piling 141 and can include a plurality of screws 153 orother devices that can secure and align the mounting bracket 151 to thepiling 141. The bracket 151 can also include a mounting screw 157 thatcan engage threads in the base plate of the true sight laser assembly101, 131 to secure this unit to the bracket 151. With reference to FIG.4, another embodiment of the bracket 161 is illustrated which also fitsover the piling 141. The bracket 161 can have an opening 165 that allowsaccess to the mounting screw 157. A quick clamping mechanism 163 isattached to the bracket 161 over the opening 165 to secure the bracket161 to the pile 141.

In alternative embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a bracket can havean outer diameter pipe that can be inserted into the inner diameter ofthe piling 141. In a preferred embodiment, the outer diameter of thebracket 171 can be a close fit to the inner diameter of the piling 141so that the true sight laser assembly 101, 131 can be held in alignmentwithout having to make adjustments to fasteners. Although the brackets151, 161, 171 have been illustrated with round pipe pilings, similarbrackets can be used with other non-circular cross section pilings suchas I-Beams or any other cross section pilings. In these embodiments, thebrackets would be mounted around or within portions of the piling crosssection and secured to the piling in manners similar to brackets 151,161, 171. Each bracket will keep the lasers of the true sight laserassembly 101, 131 properly aligned on the piling 141.

In an embodiment, as discussed above, it can be useful to have the truesight laser assembly and laser targets offset from the center line ofthe pilings. With reference to FIG. 6, an offset bracket 471 used with ahandheld target 421 is shown and in FIG. 7, an offset bracket 471 usedwith a true sight laser assembly 101 is shown. The brackets 471 caninclude a cap section 425 that is placed over the tops of the pilings141 and offset plates 475 that are secured to the cap sections 425 witha fastener 479. A quick clamping mechanism 163 can be attached to thebracket 161 over the opening 165 to secure the cap sections 425 of theoffset brackets 471 to the piles 141. The true sight laser assembly 101and handheld target 421 are mounted at equal distances off thecenterline of the pilings 141. This configuration allows the laser lightto be transmitted around any adjacent pilings 141. Thus, if there areany pilings between the true sight laser assembly 101 and handheldtarget 421 these pilings 141 will not interfere with the alignmentdetection process. In contrast, if the true sight laser assembly 101 isaligned with the piling, the beam of the rotating vertical or thehorizontal laser may be in line with the row of pilings and the laserbeams only be used to determine the alignment of an adjacent piling.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, another component of the inventivesystem for installing pilings is the adjustable guide template 201. FIG.8 illustrates a top view of the adjustable guide template 201 and FIG. 9illustrates a side view of the adjustable guide template 201 between twoadjacent pilings 141. The adjustable guide template 201 can also have anadjustable pivot point 211 at one portion and a stand structure 214 onthe opposite portion so the structure can be supported above uneventerrain, water and snow. The adjustable guide template 201 can alsoinclude wheel 237 and handles 217 that are coupled to the guide template201 with posts 216. A user can move the guide template 201 into theproper position using the handles 217. In an embodiment, the guidetemplate 201 can include a level 213 that indicates when the structureis level to ensure proper pile to pile spacing. The level 213 can be amagnetic torpedo level that's mounted on the template adjustable guidetemplate 201. The adjustable guide template 201 can also include amounting bracket 215 for a laser receiver or white board target that canbe used for alignment.

The adjustable guide template 201 can include telescoping tubularstructure 203 that is adjustable in length. The adjustable guidetemplate 201 can be circular or square cross section tubing. In anembodiment, the tubular structure 203 can have approximately a 1¼ inchinner diameter (I.D.) to a 1¼ inch outer diameter (O.D.). The adjustableguide template 201 may be adjustable between 9 feet and 18 feet inlength or a longer/shorter length, depending upon the required distancebetween pilings. The telescoping tubular structure 203 can also includea length locking mechanism. For example, the telescoping tubularstructure 203 can have a series of holes 205 that extend along thelength of the guide template 201. When the telescoping portions can beadjusted to a desired length and a locking pin 207 can be placed throughthe aligned holes 205 to lock the telescoping tubular structure 203 tothe approximate desired length. The series of holes may be spaced every6″ so that the length is not precisely adjusted.

A fine length adjustment mechanism can be placed at one or both ends ofthe telescoping tubular structure 203. In an embodiment, the fine lengthadjustment mechanism can be a threaded end fitting 209 that can berotated axially relative to the telescoping tubular structure 203 toaccurately adjust the length of the adjustable guide template 201. Forexample, the threaded mechanism can include a ¾″ coarse female fittingat the end(s) of the telescoping tubular structure 203 and the endfittings 209 can have a ¾″×10″ threaded rod and a portion that fitsaround a portion of the piling design 141 being used for the solar panelarray. In an embodiment, the end fittings 209 can be changed toaccommodate pilings having different cross sections and dimensions.

With reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, in another embodiment, the adjustableguide template 221 can be adjustable in both length and height. Ratherthan being a straight structure, the telescoping tubular structure 223can include both horizontal sections 231 and vertical sections 233 thatare adjustable in length. In an embodiment, the length of the adjustableguide template 221 can range from 9 to 18 feet and the height can rangefrom about 2 to 4 feet. The length and height of the telescoping tubularstructure 223 can be adjusted and locked to the desired dimensions withpin 207 and hole 205 locking mechanisms and the threaded rods of the endfittings described above or any other similar length adjustingmechanism.

The raised center of the adjustable guide template 221 allows a user tomore easily move the structure. In order to assist the user, theadjustable guide template 221 can be supported by a pivot point 211 anda wheel 237. Handles 217 can allow the user to rotate the adjustableguide template 221 about the pivot point 211 as illustrated in FIG. 8into proper alignment. A laser receiver can be mounted on the mountingbracket 215 and the user can visually determine when the adjustableguide template 221 is properly aligned with the rotating vertical laserof the true site laser assembly. When the adjustable guide template 221is properly positioned, the adjacent piling 141 can be driven into theground at the designated location.

The adjustable guide templates 201 and 221 illustrated in FIGS. 8-11 canhave different types of end fittings 209. With reference to FIGS. 12-17,three examples of end fittings are illustrated. FIG. 12 illustrates atop view of an end fitting 259 used with a circular pipe piling. The endfitting 259 can have a semi-circular portion 261 and a threaded portion263 that can be secured to the adjustable guide templates. The innerdiameter of the semi-circular portion 261 can be a very close fit to theouter diameter of the piling which may have an outer diameter of 4inches, 6 inches or any other suitable diameter. FIG. 13 illustrates aside view of the end fitting 259 used with a circular pipe piling.

FIG. 14 illustrates a top view and FIG. 15 illustrates a side view of anend fitting 269 used with an I-Beam or rectangular cross section piling.The end fitting 269 can have a “U” shaped portion 271 that fits closelyaround three sides of the I beam or rectangular cross section piling anda threaded portion 263, such as a 6 inch cross section I-Beam. However,in some embodiments, it may be desirable to have a looser fit with thepiling. For example, if there is any rotational misalignment with thepiling, a tight fitting end fitting 269 will cause the adjustable guidetemplate to also be out of alignment. In an embodiment, the connectionbetween the “U” shaped portion 271 and the threaded portion 263 may notbe rigid and may allow some movement so that the alignment of theadjustable guide template can be properly aligned.

In some solar panel arrays, a piling may not be required for each spacein a row. Thus, rather than installing a piling, the user can simplymark the point where a piling is not going to be installed and move onto the next piling location. FIG. 16 illustrates a top view and FIG. 17illustrates a side view of a location marking end fitting 279 thatincludes a marker point 283 that is connected to a ring 383 by aplurality of spokes 285. When using the location marking end fitting279, the adjustable guide templates is aligned with the prior piling andthe user can press the marker point 283 into the ground to mark thelocation. The user can then use this point as a reference mark for thenext piling location. It is also possible that a mix of different typesof pilings can be used in the same array. The ground mark can be used asthe location for installing another piling structure, as well as forpredrilling.

When the piling location is determined, a pile driver is used to insertthe pile into the ground. The true sight laser assembly is mounted onthe adjacent piling. With reference to FIGS. 18-20, an embodiment of ahammer target 401 is illustrated. In order to detect the horizontalposition of the pile being installed, a target 401 can be attached tothe hammer of the pile driver. As the pile is driven into the ground,the horizontal laser of the true sight laser assembly is directedtowards what will be the upper end of the piling being driven into theground. The horizontal laser will be visible on the target 401 as thepiling is driven into the soil close to the installation height. In anembodiment, the target 401 will have cross hairs 403 or a bull's eyemarking which indicates the aligned position of the piling. It can bedifficult to control the horizontal alignment of the piling during thedriving process. However, the hammer force can be stopped when thehorizontal laser is vertically aligned with the target 401.

FIG. 18 illustrates a top view of the hammer target 401 which shows amounting bracket 405 for attaching the target 401 to the hammer and ashade portion 407 for protecting the cross hairs of the target 401 frombeing exposed to sun to improve the visibility of the horizontal laseron the target 401. FIG. 19 illustrates a front view showing the crosshairs 403 on a white board 409. FIG. 20 shows a cross section of thehammer target 401 which can include a ¾ inch thick plywood layer 411 anda whiteboard 409 that has the cross hairs 403. In an embodiment, thehammer target can be 401 can include an 8 inch×16 inch target that'smade out of white board. In other embodiments, the target 401 can be anyother shape and any other suitable marking can be placed on the target401 for showing the horizontal laser. For example, the bull's eye 403can be mounted on a sticker that can be attached to the target 401. Inother embodiments, Velcro, glue, screws, fasteners or any other suitablemechanism can be used to attach the white board 409 to the target 401.The hammer target 401 can be mounted to the side of the clamping jaws ofthe pile driver. Mounted to the bracket will be ‘A” plywood to make upthe center frame. We can then screw an interchangeable white boardtarget as needed. It will also have a shading hood for easy visibilityof the laser during sunny periods.

In yet another embodiment, the hammer of the pile driver can include anintegrated target. For example, the target portion of the hammer can bepainted with a target or a target can be attached to the hammer.Alternatively, white squares could be painted on the jaws of the hammer.However, the target area of the hammer may not be flat making the laseron the target difficult to see. It can also be hard to keep the hammerclean during operation and after making multiple marks, the integratedhammer target may not be as accurate as using a separate hammer targetdevice.

With reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, after the piling has been driven intothe ground, a hand held target 421 can be placed on the piling 141 for afinal alignment check. The handheld target 421 can include a cap section425 and a target section 427. The cap section 425 can have a close fitwith the top of the piling 141 and may include an adjustment mechanismto adjust the fit. In this example, screws 429 are used as theadjustment mechanism. The target section 427 can include a tube creatinga recessed volume 431 that blocks sunlight and a target 435 such as awhite board having cross hairs, a bull's eye or other target patternlocated within the recessed volume 431. In an embodiment, the targetsection 427 can include a 4 inch diameter cylinder. The handheld target421 is placed on the piling and if the piling is in proper alignment,the horizontal laser should be aligned with the target 435. If there isan alignment error, the piling can be adjusted. The pile driver can beused to further insert the piling 141 into the ground or pull the piling141 up to the proper height. Because the handheld target 421 is carriedby an operator, it can be made of light weight material and have a beltclip for easy transportation and access.

In other embodiments, the hand held target can have a different designand construction. With reference to FIG. 23, the hand held target 420may have a ribbed insertion portion 422 that fits within the piling 141.The ribbed insertion portion 422 can include a plurality of ribs thatare arranged in a tapered manner and can be made of a flexible material.With reference to FIG. 24, the hand held target can have an offsetdesign that places the target section 427 out of alignment with thepiling 141. In this configuration, the horizontal laser can be parallelbut offset from the pilings 141 as shown in FIG. 7. The hand held targetembodiments shown in FIGS. 21-24 can be made of plastic, metal or anyother suitable material.

With reference to FIGS. 25-28, an embodiment of an alignment bracket 441is illustrated. If there are horizontal alignment errors, an alignmentbracket 441 can be used to adjust the piling horizontally. Theillustrated embodiment of the alignment bracket 441 can include amounting plate 445 that can be attached to the ABI hammer and a capsection 443 that can be placed over the piling. In this example, the capsection 443 is a circular pipe used for a round cross section pipepiling. In other embodiments, a cap section 443 that corresponds to anyother piling cross section shape can be used. FIG. 25 shows a back viewof the bracket 441 and mounting plate 445 that includes holes 447 forsecuring the alignment bracket 441 to the hammer. FIG. 26 shows a frontview of the alignment bracket 441 that shows the open lower portion 446and the enclosed upper portion of the cap section 443. FIG. 27 shows aside view cross section of the alignment bracket 441 and FIG. 28 shows atop view of the alignment bracket. The alignment bracket 441 isillustrated as having a circular cap section 443 which can have a 4inch, 6 inch or any other diameter. In other embodiments, the capsection 443 can have a rectangular cross section suitable for I-beams orany other types of pilings.

In some cases, the pile can contact a subterranean rock or hard soilthat can cause the piling to deflect horizontally. When the directionand magnitude of the alignment error is determined, the alignmentbracket 441 can be placed on the piling with the mounting plate 445substantially perpendicular to direction that the piling needs to bemoved. The mounting plate 445 can be attached to an ABI hammer that canmove the alignment bracket 441 in the direction to correct the pilingalignment. Once the piling has been adjusted, the handheld target can beplaced on the piling again for a final position check. If necessary, thedescribed process can be repeated.

With reference to FIG. 29, a simplified layout of a solar panel pilingarray 480 installation sequence is illustrated. In this example, thearray 480 can have a rectangular shape and the corner pilings 472 can belocated by a survey or other positioning method. The inventive systemcan be used to first locate and install pilings 473 between the setcorner pilings 472. In this example, the pilings 473 on the perimeter ofthe array are set first. The system can then be used to install thepilings 473 in the interior of the array 480. After an interior row ofpilings 473 is installed, the system can install the next row of pilings473 until the solar panel piling array 479 is completed. By performingthe described process, pilings in a 1,000+ piling array have beeninstalled with an accuracy of ¼ inch of side to side alignment andwithin ¼ inch of the designated height.

With reference to FIG. 30, in an embodiment, the process for installingthe pilings is performed by mounting the true sight laser assembly 101on a pile 141. The position of the true sight laser 101 can haveadjustments and can be placed along the center line of the pile 141 orcan be offset as needed. The handheld target 421 can be placed at theother end of the row of piles 141 that will be the same height off thetop of the pile 141 as the true sight laser. The laser operator can thenlook through the sight scope and adjust the horizontal laser beam 561 tothe bull's eye on the handheld target 421 at the other end of the row.With the horizontal laser aligned with the bull's eye, the rotatingvertical laser beam 563 may automatically be in line with the horizontallaser beam 561. In this illustration, the pilings 141 are mounted on asloped surface 560.

After the true sight laser assembly 101 is secured to the piling 141 andthe lasers 561, 563 are aligned, the handheld target 421 can be removedfrom the piling 141 at the end of the row. The alignment template 201can be used to position the next piling 141 in the row of pilings 141. Abull's eye mark or a bull's eye sticker can be on the target board andthe hammer target 401 can be mounted to the hammer 404. At this point,the pile driver such as an ABI hammer 404 can be used to drive the pile141 into the ground 560. The pile driver 404 can start with a first rowof piles going off of the four survey corner points to complete thesolar array grid which can include about 1,000 pile insertion points.With no pile insertion points between any two piles, an installer canmake the proper calculation for the correct distance between adjacentpilings. An adjustable alignment template 201 can be adjusted to thecalculated length. The alignment template 201 can be placed against theset piling 141 and the installer can move the alignment template 201into alignment with the rotating vertical laser beam 563 which can beadjusted to only exit the true sight laser assembly 101 within a limitedangle range 565 by adjusting the shutters. The alignment template 201can have a laser receiver 218 to detect the vertical laser beam 563.Based upon the laser receiver 218 reading, the installer can aligningtemplate 201 and identify the correct starting position to drive thepiling 141. A bobcat or ABI operator can then put the pile 141 into thecorrect location. During the pile driving process, the operator can alsomonitor the horizontal laser beam 561 intersection with the hammertarget 401 that will be visible to the naked eye. If properly installed,the horizontal laser 561 will be visible at the center of the hammertarget at the finished pile position. The hammer target 401 andhorizontal laser 561 allows the operator to be precise in the executionof pile driving. Since the ABI operator can be able to see the hammertarget 401, adjustments can be made while driving the pile 141.

In contrast to the prior art method for pile driving, a ground operatorno longer has to be in a hazardous location or have to hold the receiverand directing the ABI operator to move the pile up and down. In theprior art methods, the operator also had no way of telling if the pilewas in line and parallel with the other piles. The inventive process canbe up to 10 times faster than prior art pile driving methods.

FIG. 31 illustrates a flowchart describing an embodiment of a solarpanel array piling installation process. The four corners of the arraycan be surveyed and the corner pilings can be installed at the surveyedlocations (block 501). The true sight laser assembly can be secured toone of corner pilings with the lasers aligned with another corner piling(block 503). The alignment guide template can be placed against thecorner piling and aligned with the rotating vertical laser of the truesight laser assembly (block 504). The guide template can then be used tolocate the position of the next piling and the next pile can be drivenin at the designated location (block 505). The horizontal laser willappear on the hammer target and the operators will check for verticalalignment with the target (block 507). If the pile is not verticallyaligned with the target, the pile driver can make vertical adjustmentsby further inserting or pulling the piling up (block 509).

Once the vertical alignment is good, the pile driver is stopped and ahandheld target is placed on the piling (block 511). The operators cancheck the vertical alignment of the horizontal laser on the handheldtarget (block 512). If the horizontal laser is not vertically aligned,the pile driver can be used to make vertical adjustments to the pile(block 509). If the pile is vertically aligned, the horizontal alignmentof the piling can be checked (block 513). If the horizontal alignment isoff, the alignment bracket can be placed on the piling and the requiredhorizontal adjustments can be made (block 515). If the horizontalalignment is accurate, the operators can move on to begin installing thenext piling (block 517). This process will continue until theinstallation of the row of pilings has been completed (block 519). Ifthe row is complete, the true sight assembly is moved to the next row ofpilings (block 521). The true sight assembly is attached to the firstpiling of the next row and the process continues until the array ofpilings is completely installed.

Yet another embodiment, the horizontal laser can be attached to a pilingat one end of the row and a vertical rotating laser can be attached tothe piling at the opposite end of the row. Using the same describedprocess, the guide template can be placed against a set piling andaligned with the vertical laser to indicate the position of the nextpiling. The pile driver can insert the next pile into the surface untilthe horizontal laser is aligned with the hammer target. The hand heldtarget can be used to check the alignment of the piling and theadjustment bracket can be used to make horizontal adjustments.

An improvement of the inventive system is the elimination of almost allof the survey points and guard plates in a large mega watt sized solararray. This will result in a saving of a survey crew of two men, fourman plate lay-out crew and aligning crew. A typical solar panel arraycan have between 980 and 1,250 pilings. An example of a solar panelarray can have 1,000 piles. Using the prior art survey method, a surveycrew in 2011 may cost about $6,000 per mega watt, $10,000 for platelayout, and $5,000 for an aligning crew. As well as the overhead cost ofthe plates at $38.00 each, stakes, hotels, per diem, trucks, airlinetickets. This technology would eliminate 95% of survey points and 100%of plates. This will result in a savings of over $25,000 per Mega Watt.The United States installed about 1 giga watt of solar panel arrays(1,000 mega watts) in 2010 and is expected to build 2 giga watts in 2011and another 15 giga watts by 2015. The inventive process could saveabout $25 million per giga watt.

The present disclosure, in various embodiments, includes components,methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depictedand described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations,and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how tomake and use the present disclosure after understanding the presentdisclosure. The present disclosure, in various embodiments, includesproviding devices and processes in the absence of items not depictedand/or described herein or in various embodiments hereof, including inthe absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices orprocesses, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and/orreducing cost of implementation. Rather, as the flowing claims reflect,inventive aspects lie in less than all features of any single foregoingdisclosed embodiment.

I claim:
 1. A method for installing piles, the method comprising:emitting a first laser having a vertically oriented range spanning asegment of a vertical plane; emitting a second laser as a horizontalbeam within the vertical plane; detecting the first laser to locateinstallation sites horizontally spaced apart within the vertical plane;and driving piles into terrain at the installation sites, whereindriving the piles includes causing top end portions of the individualpiles to move into horizontal alignment with the second laser.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein driving the piles includes partially driving agiven one of the piles and then further driving the given pile, andwherein the method further comprises detecting the first laser todetermine whether the given pile is plumb after partially driving thegiven pile and before further driving the given pile.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising exerting force against a sidewall of thegiven pile to move the given pile into plumb after partially driving thegiven pile and before further driving the given pile.
 4. The method ofclaim 3 wherein exerting force against the sidewall of the given pileincludes striking the given pile with a handheld implement.
 5. Themethod of claim 1 wherein emitting the first and second lasers includesemitting the first and second lasers from first and second laseremitters, respectively, and wherein the first and second laser emittersare carried by the same housing.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising mounting the housing onto a top portion of one of the piles.7. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting the first laser to locate theinstallation sites horizontally spaced apart within the vertical planeincludes aligning a guide template with the first laser.
 8. The methodof claim 7, further comprising adjusting a length of the guide templateto correspond to a desired horizontal distance between the installationsites.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising conformably abuttingan end portion of the guide template against a sidewall of a given oneof the piles.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising rotating thefirst laser along the vertically oriented range.
 11. The method of claim1, further comprising viewing a distant projection of the second laservia a telescope while causing the top end portions of the individualpiles to move into horizontal alignment with the second laser.
 12. Themethod of claim 11 wherein viewing the distant projection of the secondlaser includes viewing the distant projection of the second laser on alaser target carried by the top end portions of the individual piles.13. A laser assembly, comprising: a first laser emitter configured toemit a first laser having a vertically oriented range spanning a segmentof a vertical plane; a second laser emitter configured to emit a secondlaser as a horizontal beam within the vertical plane; and a housingcarrying the first and second laser emitters.
 14. The laser assembly ofclaim 13 wherein the first laser is a rotating laser.
 15. The laserassembly of claim 13, further comprising a telescope aligned with thesecond laser emitter, wherein the telescope is oriented for viewing adistant projection of the second laser.
 16. The laser assembly of claim13, further comprising a pile cap carrying the housing.
 17. A lasersystem, comprising: a laser assembly including— a first laser emitterconfigured to emit a first laser having a vertically oriented rangespanning a segment of a vertical plane, and a second laser emitterconfigured to emit a second laser as a horizontal beam within thevertical plane; and a laser target including— a target surfaceconfigured to receive the second laser, and a pile cap carrying thetarget surface.
 18. The laser system of claim 17, further comprising anelongate guide template configured to horizontally space apartvertically oriented piles, the guide template having an adjustablelength.
 19. The laser system of claim 18, further comprising an elongateguide template configured to horizontally space apart verticallyoriented piles, wherein the guide template has an adjustable length. 20.The laser assembly of claim 17 wherein the laser assembly furthercomprises a telescope aligned with the second laser emitter.